In Harm’s Way

While Jews in military face the unknown in the Gulf, anxious families pray for their safety.

Rabbi Mordecai Finley, right, with his son, Kayitz, a Marine deployed in the Persian Gulf awaiting possible assignment in Iraq.

For Rabbi Alan Henkin, the next few weeks might be the most
difficult of his life.

His son, Michael Henkin, is one of the more than 200,000
American military personnel deployed in the Persian Gulf area. The 21-year-old
Army specialist, now in Kuwait, could quickly find himself near the front lines
if war with Iraq breaks out. He carries a gas mask at all times, lest Saddam
Hussein unleash a torrent of chemical or biological weapons.

Rabbi Henkin, wracked with anxiety, says a nightly prayer
for his eldest son. Stitched together from such eclectic sources as the Torah
and a German Jewish prayer book, the benediction soothes his soul.

To honor Michael, Henkin recently began reciting his special
prayer before an audience of 400 at the Union of American Hebrew Congregations'
(UAHC) biannual convention. He uttered but a few words before tears streamed
down his cheeks. Another rabbi had to finish the blessing.

"I worry so much about Michael," said Rabbi Henkin, director
of the UAHC for the Pacific Southwest region in Encino. "It would be more than
devastating if, God forbid, something befell him."

Rabbi Mordecai Finley, head of Ohr HaTorah congregation in West
Los Angeles, shares his colleague's unease. A bearded ex-Marine, he anxiously
awaits word from his son, Kayitz, a 21-year-old Marine corporal also deployed
in Kuwait. When thinking about Kayitz, the rabbi sometimes becomes overwhelmed.

"I feel like any father would. I feel anxious. I feel
worried," said Finley, who is also president of the Academy for Jewish Religion
in Los Angeles, a transdenominational seminary for training rabbis and cantors.
"But I try to stay away from those feelings and only allow myself to go there a
couple times a day."

For the families of the men and women in the U.S. armed
forces, these are difficult times. As the United States heads to war, they
cannot help but worry about loved ones who could soon be facing Saddam, a
brutal leader who has gassed his own people and killed hundreds of thousands
more in wars with Iran and Kuwait.

The feelings of dread might be even more acute for the
parents and spouses of Jewish soldiers. Given Saddam's vehement anti-Zionism,
one can only imagine the fate awaiting Jewish American servicemen taken as
Iraqi POWs. As Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl tragically learned,
sometimes being a Jew and an American in parts of the radical Muslim world can
be a deadly combination.

One U.S. military officer said she had discouraged Jewish
American soldiers from talking to The Jewish Journal because of security
concerns. To publicly identify such men and women as Jews could prove
"disastrous" should they fall into Iraqi hands. "These are dangerous times that
call for the utmost caution," said the officer, who declined to be identified.

Among the nation's 1.4 million servicemen and women on
active military duty, 3,083 are Jewish, according to the U.S. Department of
Defense. The Defense Department has no statistics on the number of Jews among
the 1.3 million Americans in reserve and National Guard units.

Georgetown University professor Yossi Shain said Hussein
represents a threat to all men and women in the service.

Â "Any American should be alarmed at the prospect of becoming
a POW in Iraq," he said. "In the first Gulf War, you had all sorts of Americans
complaining about mistreatment."

Rabbi Jacob Goldstein, a colonel and chief chaplain of the
New York Army National Guard, knows personally the dangers posed by Saddam.
During the Gulf War, Goldstein was deployed to Israel as chaplain for U.S.
military personnel manning the Patriot missiles. He remembers braving repeated
Scud missile attacks against the Jewish State.

"There was a sense of not knowing what was in those missiles
-- possible biological or chemical agents -- until three or four hours later,
when we were given the all- clear," said Goldstein, who also served as chaplain
at Ground Zero. "My wife, who was back in Brooklyn, had her nerves shredded a
little more after each attack."

Against this backdrop, Rabbis Henkin and Finley try to go on
with their lives as best they can. Both pray a bit more and try to be
optimistic. Sometimes, though, a torrent of emotions break through. Mostly, the
rabbis said, they are proud of their young progeny.

Henkin said his son has matured significantly since joining
the Army Reserve nearly two years ago. In basic training, Michael lived away
from home for the first time, learning how to become self-reliant and pushing
himself to his physical and mental limits. Michael grew so cocksure that he
later sent younger brother Matthew, now 10, a letter offering unsolicited
advice on how to lead a better life, Rabbi Henkin said.

The rabbi wasn't always so enthusiastic about his son's
decision to enlist. A product of the turbulent 1960s, Henkin protested the
Vietnam War. He said he had some "lingering" misgivings about U.S. power and
expressed those qualms to his son. But Michael saw military service as an
"adventure, a chance to bond with some good men and women, to serve his
country." Henkin said he has since come around to supporting Michael
wholeheartedly.

In a show of solidarity, Henkin and other family members
recently donned T-shirts inscribed with "We Love You Michael" and took group
pictures. The rabbi plans soon to send the photos, along with a care package,
to his son.

Henkin never imagined his son could end up on the
battlefield in a post-Cold War world, forcing him temporarily out of Pierce
College and into fatigues. Now, he might. And as a precautionary measure,
Michael just had his dog tags reissued to remove his Jewish religious
affiliation.

Rabbi Finley had no misgivings when Kayitz decided to put
off college and join the Marines. The rabbi himself served in the Marines from
1973 to 1976 and credits the experience with giving him a sense of purpose and
self-discipline. He figured Kayitz would profit from it as well, although some
of his son's high school buddies wondered why a smart Jewish boy would
voluntarily put himself in harm's way.

To Rabbi Finley, there are few greater callings than serving
one's country, especially in disarming "a violent, aggressive tyrant" like
Saddam.

"The military is a wonderful institution, full of people who
are willing to train hard night and day so people can sleep safely in their
beds, full of people willing to die for your freedom," he said.

Rabbi Finley said Kayitz has personally developed since
becoming a Marine on Sept. 11, 2000. He has worked alongside Kenyan soldiers in
Africa, seen the world and earned government funding toward his future college
education. In a reflection of how far he has come, Kayitz oversaw in January
the loading of weapons and supplies onto ships before shipping out.

"Joining the Marines was a gutsy thing for him to do," Rabbi
Finley said.

The gutsiness of U.S. military personnel in the Persian Gulf
will likely soon be challenged as never before. That's why Henkin continues to
say his special nightly prayer for son Michael, Kayitz and the other men and
women in the U.S. military.

"May the One who blessed our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, and our mothers, Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel, bless those who are
serving in our armed forces. May God guard them, and keep them from harm. If
they find themselves in danger's path, may God bring them back whole of mind
and body to all those who love them."

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